Jessica Mosbaugh, a Los Alamitos local and junior at Pepperdine University, swam in two breaststroke events at the AT&T Winter Nationals Championship in Greensboro, N.C. Dec 5-6.
Mosbaugh competed in both the 100-meter breaststroke and the 200-meter breaststroke events, and put up record-setting times in both races.
In her signature event, the 200-breaststroke, she put up a season-best time of 2:17.84, and finished 45th overall out 100 competitors.
“Jessica turned in another great swim today,” said Pepperdine head coach Nick Rodionoff. “To do that in this field of competitors speaks volumes about her and her work ethic. She’s done a phenomenal job representing the Waves as she continues to help lift the program to new heights.”
Her coach and teammates, though not at the meet, watched and rallied Mosbaugh on via a laptop at their practice in Malibu.
“We had so much fun sitting around the computer watching. Everyone was cheering her on,” said Rodionoff. “You would have thought she could hear us.”
It may be that Mosbaugh might have felt the support from her teammates because she gave her fellow Wave swimmers a shout out on Twitter.
“I love my team. Thanks for the supports divas,” said Mosbaugh in a tweet.
Mosbaugh began her weekend at the Winter Nationals competing in the 100-meter event where she recorded a personal best 50-meter split time of 29.52 seconds, and the second-best time in Pepperdine’s history, 1:04.00. She finished fourth in her heat and 58th overall.
Currently, Mosbaugh holds five records at Pepperdine, and is the 2014 Pacific Collegiate Swim & Dive Conference, PCSC, champion in the 200-breaststroke as well as the runner-up in the 100-meter event. She set her two personal-best breaststroke records at PCSC championships last spring, which qualified her for the Winter Nationals meet.
Mosbaugh was the lone swimmer at the meet in Greensboro, and she also is the only swimmer on the Pepperine roster from the Los Al area. At the age of 8, Mosbaugh began her swimming career at the local Seal Beach swim club where she swam under coach Patti Haney.
“Jesssica also played AYSO and Los Alamitos Girl’s Softball – and was on the “A” All Star Teams every year from 8U – 14U as a catcher,” said Jessica’s mother Wendy Mosbaugh. “Swimming ended up being her ‘thing’.”
Competitive swimming has become Mosbaugh’s “thing” indeed as she’s scooped up records everywhere she’s swam since her Seal Beach days. Right now, Mosbaugh holds eight different breaststroke records at the Seal Beach swim club, and also holds the 200-medley relays record at Los Alamitos High School.
Her drive hasn’t faltered so far throughout her career, and with every success Mosbaugh is always looking to accomplish her next goal. Next, Mosbaugh has her sights on qualifying and competing in the NCAA Division 1 championships. But before she can think about that meet, she will have to first get through her next challenge coming up in January.
Pepperdine’s next meet is on Jan 2-3 when they attend the Chris Knorr invitational at Cal Lutheran.
